Preservation of Nobscot Reservation

Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., December 16, 2008Sudbury, MA

When Sudbury Valley Trustees, Inc. (“SVT”) needed real estate counsel to close one of the largest conservation restriction deals in its fifty year history, it turned to Beveridge & Diamond, P.C. to get the $8,600,000 deal done. The firm represented the Sudbury Valley Trustees, Inc. (“SVT”) in a multi-party transaction resulting in the preservation of 303 acres of the Nobscot Reservation (“Nobscot”) located in Sudbury, Massachusetts. SVT and the Town of Sudbury (“Town”) jointly purchased the conservation restriction in a deal to preserve one of the largest undeveloped pieces of open space in the metropolitan area west of Boston (“Metrowest”) and to extend a wildlife corridor that includes a state park and 150 acres of Town owned conservation land.

SVT is a regional land trust established in 1953 that actively conserves land and protects wildlife habitat in 36 Metrowest communities located within the Concord, Assabet, and Sudbury river basin in Massachusetts. SVT has been a pro bono client of Beveridge & Diamond for many years. The organization currently owns, through gift and purchase, more than 2,200 acres and holds conservation restrictions on more than 1,000 additional acres. As the largest piece of undeveloped land in Sudbury, the protection of Nobscot has long been a priority of both SVT and the Town. Nobscot is habitat for two state-listed endangered species, includes several historic sites and also contains “Tippling Rock” -- a location which offers spectacular views from Boston to New Hampshire -- within its boundaries. Negotiations between the parties to protect the land began approximately eight years ago and recently culminated in an agreement whereby SVT and the Town purchased a perpetual conservation restriction financed by state and local funds, a generous grant from the Sudbury Foundation, and private donations raised by SVT.

Nobscot contains an important link in the “Bay Circuit Trail”, a hiking trail that rings suburban Boston from the Atlantic Ocean on the North Shore to Massachusetts Bay on the South Shore. The conservation restriction will ensure perpetual public access to that trail and many others located on the property.

Beveridge & Diamond assisted SVT in resolving some very difficult development and preservation issues and helped to bring together three parties with often divergent interests to close the deal. Nobscot represents a win-win for all parties involved and is a prime example of how perseverance and dedication to a mutual goal can bring about celebrated results.